D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its position in shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) by 39.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,175 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,691 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Dillard's worth $10,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 215.8% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 3,291 shares of the company's stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in Dillard's during the 4th quarter worth about $1,012,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Dillard's by 97.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,180,000 after buying an additional 5,919 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Dillard's by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,002 shares of the company's stock worth $4,318,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its position in shares of Dillard's by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 5,285 shares of the company's stock worth $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.15% of the company's stock.

Dillard's Price Performance

NYSE DDS traded up $27.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $433.40. 47,375 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 140,912. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average is $348.33 and its 200-day moving average is $409.38. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.96. Dillard's, Inc. has a 52-week low of $282.24 and a 52-week high of $510.00.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $10.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.10 by $1.29. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Dillard's had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. During the same period last year, the company earned $11.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Dillard's, Inc. will post 33.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Dillard's's payout ratio is 2.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DDS. UBS Group upped their target price on Dillard's from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Dillard's in a research report on Friday.

Dillard's Profile

Dillard's, Inc engages in the retail of fashion apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings, and other consumer goods. It operates through the Retail Operations and Construction segments. The Retail Operations segment comprises sells cosmetics, ladies' apparel, ladies' accessories and lingerie, juniors' and children's apparel, men's apparel and accessories, shoes, and home and furniture products.